1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a bicycle rack to be transported at the rear of a motor vehicle for carrying bicycles that are suspended vertically and upside down relative to one another so that their front wheels face up. The bicycle rack is adapted to be collapsed from an expanded deployed configuration when bicycles are being carried to a compact folded configuration when no bicycles are being carried.
2. Background Art
It is well known to connect a bicycle rack to a hitch at the rear of a motor vehicle so that one or more bicycles can be transported by the vehicle. In many racks, two or more bicycles are carried side-by-side in horizontal alignment. Such an alignment consumes a relatively large amount of space to create overhang at the rear of the vehicle and prevent the bicycles from being nested close together.
In some cases, the bicycle rack engages the fork crown of the bicycle. Because of the size and location of the fork crown, such bicycle rack is limited to carrying only certain types of bicycles. In other cases, a series of time-consuming and often cumbersome manipulations must be made in order to first attach a bicycle to and later detach the bicycle from the rack. In still other cases, when no bicycles are being carried by the bicycle rack, there is no easy way to collapse the rack into a compact and more space-efficient configuration without having to remove the rack altogether from the vehicle.